The article which appears below, was originally compiled by Pavan Kumar in February 2009 and was published on Yahoo Groups. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
On Expectations:
- “I feel like one of our sports persons at the Olympics who is being told to bring home a gold medal. I hope I don’t let down people who are expecting me to win the Oscar.”
- “She’d wake up in the middle of the night and say, ‘I want you to win an Oscar’. And I’d just smile. Today, my wife’s dream seems a possibility.”
- “It is a great feeling… It is getting better and better and let’s hope for the biggest one – the Oscars.”
On Working with Danny Boyle:
- “It’s probably one-fifth of the time I normally take. For one thing, a normal film has about 150 cues. But in this one there were only 17-18 cues for me. Boyle uses music very little but very efficiently.”
On His Philosophy:
- “I think my philosophy of life is music is universal… so I’m never closed to things. Like some people say, ‘Oh, I hate heavy metal,’ or I hate jazz.’ Why do you need to hate it? Why don’t you appreciate it?”
- “For me it is not about India alone. It is about the human spirit which triumphs and this could have happened in China or Brazil or anywhere else.”
The Oscar Night
Acceptance Speech Moments:
- “I was excited and terrified. The last time I felt like that was during my marriage.”
- “All my life, I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I’m here. There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing…”
- “Mere paas ma hai” (I have nothing, but I have a mother)
- “I have nothing but I have a mother. My mother’s here, her blessings are there with me. I am grateful for her to have come all the way.”
- “I just want to thank again the whole crew of Slumdog Millionaire, especially Danny Boyle for giving such a great opportunity.”
- “The essence of the film is about optimism and the power of hope.”
Immediate Reactions
First Response:
- “I’m at the top of the world. Everything is a blur.”
- “She was screaming with joy. I spoke to my mother and my family and my kids, and friends. In fact, the whole film community. All of them are so excited.”
On Hollywood Reception:
- “Everybody treated me as an equal… Hollywood stars like Angelina Jolie, Steven Spielberg and Penelope Cruz, came up to me and congratulated me for winning these awards.”
Reflections and Future
On Impact:
- “This (Oscar awards) is for the younger generation. I hope they take inspiration from this and spread the message of peace and love.”
- “It’s a starting point for a lot in my career. And I hope my award inspires others as well.”
- “My biggest dream to connect people through music has come true. In a world where there are enough reasons to separate us, the Oscars have unified us. Let’s forget about the East and West divide…”
On Moving Forward:
- “It (winning Oscars) is not the climax of my career… It is a starting point for making a lot of difference in music and in the way people think about music.”
- “India is going through this huge change in the whole vision of film making and I want to be a part of that change.”
- “We have a different philosophy of approaching film music and I would say there’s lots to give which I always wanted to happen.”
On Artistic Process:
- “I like to see a film and then start scoring it in my mind, while doing something unrelated. You just grasp a film and start working, and something unpredictable comes out…”
